Stuttgart. Just two weeks after the gripping season-opener comes now the first race abroad for the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on 15 May on the Circuit Park Zandvoort. After winning round one, Nick Tandy travels to the Dutch North Sea coast as points’ leader. At round two, the Konrad Motorsport pilot from Great Britain is keen to repeat his win from last year. But he faces some top class opposition, above all from local heroes Jeroen Bleekemolen (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit) and Jaap van Lagen (Land Motorsport), who are determined to perform well at their home race.

The 4.3 kilometre dune circuit with its crests and dips is regarded as one of the highlights on the calendar of Germany’s fastest one-make series. “It’s a fantastic track with a great history,” says Jeroen Bleekemolen. Bleekemolen, who clinched fourth at the season-opener in Hockenheim, grew up just a stone’s throw away from Zandvoort and has contested more than 60 races there. “There are many fast corners where courage is needed. And with the walls so close to the track, any little mistake has immediate consequences.” This includes the ‘Arie Luyendijkbocht’ as well as the entry into the ‘Scheivlak-Kurve’, which the 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup take at over 200 kph through a right-left kink.

Last year, Nick Tandy managed the feat of claiming victory at his first ever race in Zandvoort. Behind the Briton sits René Rast from Germany (Förch Racing), the reigning champion of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup who currently ranks second overall in the drivers’ classification. Aside from the front-running duo, Britain’s Sean Edwards (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit) in third belongs to the drivers with good title chances in the strong grid line up of the Porsche Carrera Cup.

Other top drivers who are eager to yield good results in Zandvoort and close the gap to the front runners are double Porsche Supercup champion Jeroen Bleekemolen as well as Uwe Alzen (Germany, PZ Aschaffenburg Uwe Alzen Automotive), Carrera Cup vice-champion Jan Seyffarth (Germany, SMS Seyffarth Motorsport) and Jaap van Lagen. The Dutchman gave an indication of his talent in Zandvoort last year when he brought home second at a one-off Carrera Cup race on his home track. Nicolas Armindo and Nicki Thiim from Hermes Attempto Racing are two other competitors with title aspirations. The title defender from France and the young Dane performed below their potential at the season-opener in Hockenheim due to opting for the wrong tyres.

Carrera Cup fans, who can’t make it to the circuit can witness the race via live-streaming on the official Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland website on (www.porsche.de/carreracup).